Condensing unit



24, 1940- J. R. CAULK, JR 2,226,444

- CONDENSING UNIT Filed 001;. 28, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS.

a v Q PIC-3.5.

IN VENTOR Arron/Wm.

' 45 of suitable insulating material.

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 PATENT OFFICE CONDENSING UNIT .lohn B. Caulk, Jr., Ladue, Mo., assignor to Hussmann-Ligonier Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application October 28, 1939, Serial No. 301,709 Claims. (Cl. 62 -116) My invention relates to condensing units and more particularly to condensing units adapted for use with mechanical refrigerators.

Mechanical refrigerators now in use ordinarily 5 include a compressor which supplies a vaporized.

in the compartment to be cooled. when the liquid refrigerant passes through the cooling 'coil it absorbs heat from the surrounding atmosphere causing it to boil away and change from a liquid to a vapor. The vaporized refrigerant is then drawn into the compressor at [the suction side thereof where it is compressed and undergoes another cycleof operation.

It is a well known fact that the efficiency of a mechanical refrigerator is dependent to a great extent on the quantity of condensation of the vaporized refrigerant as itpasses through the condensingcoll, and that the efficiency of the condenser is dependent on the temperature of air passing over the condenser. The warmer the air, the less ,liquid condensed; the less liquid condensed, the lower the capacity; and, since the power input of the machine remains reasonably constant if the only variable is the conden ser air temperature, it follows that, as the air over the condenser rises, the efliciency of the machine decreases. If the air temperature increases too much in. any given application of. a mechanical refrigerating machine, the capacity often drops to a point at which it is not adequate for the load requirements and will cause the ma-- chine to run continuously.

Heretofore, the refrigerating mechanism, ineluding a compressor, a condensing coil and a fan to provide a flow of air therearound, usually was placed in any convenient location, either at a remote point or in therefrigerator cabinet and separated from the cooled compartment by walls If the mechanism was located at a remote'point it was not housed in any way and, if the mechanism was located in the cabinet, one wall of the chamber usually was provided with louvres and another 50 wall was similarly Open to passage of air and the fan circulated air around the condensing coil.

In either location, the air circulated around thecondensing coil became heated and, obviously, since the flow of air over the condensing coil was I not directed or to a given path. the fan induced a circuitous flow in which the same air was re-circulated again and again around the condensing coil. This condition was most prevalent if the mechanism was in a chamber because, even if the walls were provided with openings. 5 the air in the chamber would be mixed with only a minute amount of air from'the outside. It followed, that after the mechanism had been operated for a somewhat protracted period the air circulated around the condensing coil gradm ually increased in temperature until the condensing coil could not be cooled effectually and, in turn, the vaporized refrigerant in the coil was not liquefied completely. Because of such ineffectual and improper cooling of the condensing 15 coil, it is apparent that the longer the compressor operated continuously the higher became the temperature of the air flowing around the condensing coil and the lower became the eillciency of the refrigerating mechanism. This decrease in efll- 20 ciency made it necessary to install refrigerating -mechanism of substantially larger capacity than would be required to cool a refrigerator of a given size if the mechanism operated at greatest efllciency. 25

Also, in refrigerated display cases, the chamber adapted to receive the refrigerating mechanism usually was positioned at one end of the display case and the portion of the case containing the chamber could not be used for the display of 80 food stuff. All display cases of a given model were constructed alike and the chamber for the refrigerating mechanism was located at the same end in cases of the same 'rnodel. Therefore, it was necessary to construct a special case if a 35 purchaser desired a refrigerator with the chamber for the refrigerating mechanism located at the end of the case opposite that at which the mechanism ordinarily was located. In order to meet the requirements of such customers. special 40 manufacturing procedure, involving an increased cost of production, was necessary.

In order to overcome the deficiencies of mechanical refrigerators as used heretofore and to increase the efliciency thereof, my invention contemplates a condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators comprising in addition to the usual mechanism, a housing so divided by an imperforate baille that air discharged by the condenser fan is not allowed to contact incoming air until it has been exhausted from the housing. Furthermore, by means of my invention; the incoming and exhaust air both pass through the same wall of the unit housing. The above mentioned b'efle preferably extends inwardly from the open wall of the housing and terminates short of the opposite wall thereof so that air may be induced into the housing, passing on one side of the baffle, then passing around the end of the baflle into the condenser and fan and being discharged out the same wall of the housing through which it entered, but being separated from the entering air by means of the baflle. By means of this invention, air not only passes through the condenser but also an amount of air equivalent in volume to that passing through the condenser is induced around the condenser by the fan, thereby doubling the amount of air passing through the housing over what passes over the condenser alone. This reduces the temperature rise .of air through the housing by approximately one-half what it is through the condenser alone. The merit of this feature lies in the fact that the temperature rise of air surrounding the housing is kept to a minimum with the consequent increase in efliciency above described.

The end of the baffle adjacent the open wall is arranged so that air passing over the condensing coil andthe compressor is deflected as it passes out of the housing whereby air discharged from one chamber of the condensing unit into the atmosphere will not be drawn again into the other chamber. In one of the chambers is positioned a compressor and a condensing coil arranged in the path of air flow, and a fan is provided to circulate air through the chambers and past the condensing coil and the compressor. As cool air passes around the coil, the vaporized refrigerant therein is cooled and condenses, and the air is-heated thereby. As stated above, when the warm air leaves the chamber having therein the condensing coil and the compressor, it cannotbe drawn again into the housing and, in this manner, the condensing unit is furnished at all times with a copious supply of cool air.

The condensing unit including the housing and its contained mechanism is constructed so that it is mobile and self-contained and may be positioned at either end of a display case or between two cases and, for this reason, suitable fastening means are provided at each end of the display case and on opposed walls of the condensing unit so that the unit may be fastened rigidly to the display case.

Having thus briefiy described my invention, one object thereof is to provide a condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators which is cheap to manufacture and inexpensive to operate.

,Another object of my invention is to provide an enclosed condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators which is capable of condensing more vaporized refrigerant under any given room condition, thereby increasing capacity and efficiency.

Another object of my invention is to provide a condensing unit adaptedfor use with mechanical refrigerators and which is mobile and selfcontained and may be attached to the refrigerator at either end thereof.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators which will furnish a copious supply of cool air to the condensing coil so that the unit operates efliciently and so that the size of the compressor relative to the volume of the chamber in the refrigerator to be cooled may be reduced substantially in application where the unit must be in a housing. Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of an end portion of a refrigerator display case, showing a condensing unit embodying my invention operatively connected thereto,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section the line 2-2 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 33 in Fig. 2, with the rear wall thereof cut away,

Fig. 4 is a plan view, showing the condensing unit interposed between adjacent ends of two refrigerator display cases; and

' Fig. 5 is an end view of a refrigerator case adapted for use with a condensing unit constructed according to my invention.

'Referring to the accompanying drawings, a condensing unit I is shown therein constructed according to my invention and comprising a housing 2 formed preferably of metal and finished in the same manner, that is, as to color. shape and design, as the refrigerator display case 3 with which it is used. It should be understood, however, that the refrigerator 3 is shown herein for illustrative purposes only and may be of any suitable type and construction and constitutes no part of my invention.

The housing 2 has three imperforate walls, but has one wall 4 thereof arranged to allow free flow of air therethrough to provide an entrance and an exit therefor and, for convenience of manufacture, this wall may be formed by a screen 4a. The housing 2 forms a chamber which is divided into an upper chamber 5 and a lower chamber '6 by a partition or baffle 1, which extends from the screen 4a towards but terminates short of the opposite wall of the housing so that air may be induced freely through the upper portion of the screen 4a into and through the upper chamber 5, thence downwardly around the edge of the baflie 1 and thence into and through the lower chamber 6, where it is discharged through the lower portion of said screen. The end of the baflle 7 adjacent the screen 4a is preferably inclined downwardly so that, as the air flows out of the exit in the lower chamber 6, it is deflected downwardly and cannot mingle with .the cool air flowing through the upper portion of said screen into the upper chamber 5. In order to minimize noise caused by movement of the parts of the condensing through said unit on v unit thebafiie 1 is preferably formed entirely of sound insulating material or may have a layer 1a of such material to its under side.

Located in the lower chamber 6 is a condensing coil 8, a compressor 9, a motor ID for operating said compressor and a fan ll driven by said motor and adapted and arranged to, circulate air through the chambers 5 and 6 and past said condensing coil and compressor. The compressor 9 and condensing coil 8 are connected in series in the accustomed manner with other elements-of the refrigerating mechanism.

From the above description the operation of a condensing unit constructed according to my invention will be understood easily. The fan H induces air through the entrance in the upper portion of the screen 4a into and through the upper chamber 5, around the edge of the baflle 1 and into the lower chamber 6, wherein the air flows over and cools the condensing coil 8 and compressor 9, and out of the exit in the lower portion of the screen 4a. As the heated air leaves the lower chamber 6 through the exit in the screen to it is deflected downwardly by the incirculated past the heated air discharged from the lowerchamber clined portion of 8 of the condensing unit is not drawn with the cool air into the upper chamber 5.

The condensing unit preferably is located adjacent to and at an end of the refrigerator 3 with which it is used and may be connected to the cooling coils therein in the accustomed man suitable connections, as

ner by pipes 02 or other shown in Fig. i.

To prevent movement of the condensing unit 9 relative to the refrigerator case with which-it is used, the condensing unit is attached rigidly thereto by lag screws or bolts l3 arranged to fit through openings ll in the framework of the housing 2 of the condensing unit i and threaded into the framework of the refrigerator 3 which preferably is provided with openings i5 at each end thereof, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The housing 2 of the condensing unit I is also provided with openings l6 therein at the other end thereof and similar to the openings 84 so that the condensing unit may or, if used with a pair of refrigerator cases, the condensing unit may be located therebetween as shown clearly in Fig. 4. The openings l5 and i6 not used in attaching the condensing unit to the display case may be covered with caps or by other suitable means.

If a condensing unit embodying my invention is included in the cabinet of a refrigerator, the housing may be formed by walls within the cabinet. but in such event, of course, the housing is provided with a partition to direct circulation of air past the condenser in above.

Other arrangements may be used without deviating from the scope of my invention and while I have described a particular embodiment thereof. it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the form and scribed. In some instances it may be desirable to locate the partition I in the housing 2 in a vertical plane instead of a horizontal plane. In this event the air will be deflected to the side of the housing instead of downwardly. Also, the condenser may be located in one compartment of the housing and the compressor may be located in another compartment, depending on the size and arrangement of the compartments.

What I claim is:

l; A condensing unit for ators comprising a housing having one wall with a single opening therethrough occupying substantially the entire area thereof, a partition arranged to divide said housing into two chambers of substantially equal volume and cooperating directly with the walls of said single opening to provide an air entrance opening for one chamber and an air exit opening for the other chamber, said partition being arranged to provide an unobstructed opening for free circulation of air from one chamber to another, refrigerant condensing mechanism arranged in said housing clear of said unobstructed o'pening, and mechanical means forcausing a circulation of air through one of said chambers and into and through the other of said chambers past said condensing mechanism, said partition being arranged with relation to said single opening so that air leaving mechanical refrigerair exit, a substantia circulation of be positioned and fastenedrigidly to a refrigerator case at either end thereof the manner described an irom one arrangement shown and de said exit is deflected away from said entrance whereby heated air discharged from one chamber will not be drawn again into the other chamber.

2. A condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators comprising a housing having one wall thereof arranged to provide an air entrance and an lly horizontal partition arranged to separate said exit from said entrance and to divide said housing and an unobstructed upper chamber having a so as to provide an unobstructed opening for free air from one chamber to another, refrigerant condensing mechanism arranged en- I tirely in said lower chamber adjacent to but clear of said unobstructed opening, and mechanical means for causing a circulation of air through said entrance into and through said unobstructed upper chamber and thence through said unobstructed opening into and through said lower chamber past the refrigerant condensing mechanism therein and out through said'exit, said partition having a portion that extends clear to said exit and is inclined in a direction that will cause air passing over said condensing mechanism to be deflected away from said entrance vas it leaves said exit, whereby the air discharged from said into a lower chamber volume at least equal to that of saidlower chamber, said partition being positioned and arranged exit will not'be circulated again through said chambers.

3. A condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators comprising a housing having one wall thereof arranged to provide an entrance and an exit, a substantially horizontal partition arranged to separate said exit from said entrance and to divide said housing into upper and lower chambers of substantially equal volume, said partition being positioned and arranged so as to provide an unobstructed opening for free circulation of chamber to another, refrigerant condensing mechanism arranged entirely in said lower chamber adjacent to said unobstructed opening, and mechanical means in said lower chamber for causing a circulation of air through said entrance into and through said upper chamber and thence through said unobstructed opening into and through said lower chamber past the refrigerant condensing mechanism therein and out through said exit, the end of said partition adjacent said exit defining one edge thereof and being inclined downwardly away from said en- 'trance so that air passing through said lower chamber and around the condensing mechanism therein is deflected downwardly away from said entrance as it leaves said chamber through said 5 exit.

4. A condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators comprising a housing, a screen formin substantially one entire wall of said housing to allow air to flow therethrough, a substantially horizontal partition arranged to divide the housing into upper and lowerchambers of substantially equal volume, said partition extending inwardly from the wall formed by said screen, and terminating short of the, opposite wall to pro-. vide an unobstructed opening of an area at least equal to one-half the cross-sectional area of each of said chambers so that air may pass from one chamber to the other chamber between said opposite wall and said partition, refrigerant condensing mechanism arranged in one of said chambers adjacent to but clear of said opening, the other chamber being entirely unobstructed, and mechanical means for causing a circulation of air through said unobstructed chamber and through said unobstructed opening into and through the other of said chambers and past said condensing mechanism.

5. A condensing unit for mechanical refrigerators comprising a housing having one wall thereof formed substantially entirely by a screen to allow air to flow therethrough and to provide an entrance and an exit therefor, a substantially horizontal partition cooperating with said screen so as to separate sand entrance from said exit and being arranged to divide said chamber into upper and lower chambers of substantially equal volume, said partition extending inwardly from said screen but terminating short of the opposite 15 wall to provide an unobstructed opening between said chambers so that air may pass through said opening from one chamber to the other, a downwardly extending baflle positioned at the end of said partition in substantially abutting rela- 

